The Slow Life

A few weeks ago I was reading an article in Newsweek about "slow living." This is a movement that began with "slow cooking" in Italy (if I recall correctly.) There is a call for discarding the hectic pace of "modern" life and going back to something more leisurely and meditative.

The article was actually a review of a book about "slow reading" which struck a chord with me. Do you mentally say each word as you read? I tend to do that. I used to feel defensive about it, but then a wise older person (Sid Yongsma, for those of you who remember him) told me, "You don't try to eat a delicious piece of pie in one bite, do you? Why should you rush through a good book?" Amen to that!

There was a list of suggestions to implement on your way to a "slow life": take a long walk, read a good book, cook a meal from scratch. Well, I thought, that's what I do every day! M. and I try to make our 2 1/2 mile walk every day, and we do succeed probably four days in a week, at a minimum.

I couldn't live a day without some reading. We're early risers and eat a casual breakfast (that means he eats in front of the t.v. while watching Business News and I eat on the living room couch while reading.) Now and then during the day I sit down for a break and continue reading the current book. Evenings are almost totally given over to reading. Jim likes to watch the news and discussion shows on t.v., but I prefer to read.

Cooking from scratch is de rigeur at our place. Breakfasts are made from scratch fruit salads, and homemade muffins, pancakes, scones, etc. Only Jim's favorite breakfast cereal is bought in a box. I even grind our own whole wheat flour from organic hard red wheat grown about 60 kilometers from here.

Dinner is much the same. For example, today we had salad of our own onions, zuchinni, tomatoes, with bought peppers (ours are not ripe yet) and Feta cheese; lightly boiled sugar snap peas, and potatoes, both from our garden, and a small pork chop, bought at the local IGA (provenance unknown).

This way of cooking is even slower than slow because I had to go out to the garden to pick the salad and veggies. The potatoes had been dug up earlier.

We love our way of eating, and feel that it's the best thing we can do to help ourselves be healthy. But it leaves me with this question: If this is slow living, Why does time seem to fly by?

Some of my projects seem to get stuck in the slow lane, too. That was the case with the knitting project I finally finished today. I had made

two of these "waistcoats" in November thru January for the two granddaughters in B.C. I think it was in February that I started this one for the youngest granddaughter. I remember being really keen to get going on it, because 1. it's pink! and 2. it has this delightful fake fur collar.

But just the same as the first two waistcoats I made, this one took forever because you can never just knit a big chunk of stockinette. It's all k.1, p.1, except for the cables, which take their own amount of care in doing.

But it's finished!!! And it was worth the effort. I think it's just darling, and will look just darling on granddaughter #4.